Regional Pathways to Reconciliation through International Education: Identities, Institutions, and Cross-Border Collaborations

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Anchored within the overarching framework of international education, this panel examines how processes of peace and reconciliation can be understood as essential outcomes of educational exchange and collaboration. International education has long been positioned as a driver of global cooperation, intercultural understanding, and the cultivation of shared values. Within this broader mandate, reconciliation represents a vital dimension, offering a lens through which international education contributes not only to individual transformation but also to inter-societal and civic renewal. As Asano (2022) notes, “the central task of reconciliation studies lies in the analytical concepts and problem consciousness that connect governmental reconciliation to inter-societal reconciliation, and further to civic reconciliation grounded in universal values” (p. 4). International education provides the means to actualize these connections: it transforms diplomatic compromises into lived experiences of dialogue, embeds reconciliation within inter-societal encounters through student exchanges, joint curricula, and collaborative research and cultivates empathy, intercultural competence, and universal values that enable learners to embody reconciliation as civic practice (Kester, 2022; Sommer, 2022; Tinker, 2016; Ramirez-Barat & Duthie, 2015; Abdi, 2020).
Furthermore, education is presented here as a critical arena where regional actors grapple with histories of conflict, political divergence, and cultural heterogeneity while striving to build new forms of solidarity. Institutions and individuals across Asia emerge not as passive recipients of dominant state narratives but as active agents negotiating meanings of identity, memory, and reconciliation within complex regional governance frameworks.
Building on this theoretical foundation, this panel specifically focuses on the Asian region as a case study, offering a unique vantage point to investigate both the possibilities and constraints of education for reconciliation amid intensifying geopolitical tensions and a resurgence of nationalism. The panel’s objectives are threefold: (1) to analyze how identity formation, institutional frameworks, and cross-border partnerships within international higher education mediate reconciliation processes; (2) to critically examine structural challenges alongside opportunities; and (3) to articulate implications for broader peacebuilding debates.
The panel consists of three presentations;
Multiple Pathways to Postnational Belonging: How ASEAN Students in Japan Navigate National, Regional, and Global Identities analyzes how ASEAN students cultivate multifaceted identity configurations through study abroad experiences. It challenges the binary between national and transnational identities, demonstrating how regional and global identifications can reinforce national belonging, thus fostering inclusive and flexible identities conducive to peacebuilding.
The Role of Regional Universities in Advancing Peace and Reconciliation: The South Asian University Experience focuses on a unique intergovernmental higher education initiative. Examining South Asian University, established by SAARC, it explores how the institution fosters intercultural dialogue and solidarity among students from historically adversarial states. Situating the university within debates on soft power and knowledge diplomacy, this study highlights regional universities as critical platforms for reconciliation while acknowledging governance and inclusivity challenges.
Cross-Border Peace Education and Research Collaboration in ASEAN interrogates regional networks such as AUN-HRE and SHAPE-SEA, assessing how cross-border teaching and research initiatives are leveraged to address or perpetuate diversity among ASEAN states. It critically examines both the promise and limitations of regional cooperation for peacebuilding.
Collectively, this panel illustrates how regional higher education initiatives serve as arenas of negotiation where identities are reimagined, institutions embody contested purposes, and collaborative efforts emerge amid diverse goals and circumstances. By addressing different levels of agency empirically, this panel enriches academic discourse on how international education can advance peace and reconciliation—not only between two nations but across complex regional constellations marked by historical divisions and aspirations for collective futures.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• JungHyun Jasmine Ryu, The University of Tokyo

Individual Presentations

• Multiple Pathways to Postnational Belonging: How ASEAN Students in Japan Navigate National, Regional, and Global Identities - Du Viet Nguyen, Waseda University

• The Role of Regional Universities in Advancing Peace and Reconciliation: The South Asian University Experience - Leyla Radjai, UNESCO

• Peace Education across Borders: Regional Governance, Collaboration, and Reconciliation in ASEAN - JungHyun Jasmine Ryu, The University of Tokyo